SCENEzine Interviews Matt Caughthran, Singer Of The Bronx

Some things just seem to be made for each other like peanut butter and well just about everything if you are like me. But more specifically then that I am talking about LA band The Bronx and Australian music audiences, the band are about to embark on a national headline tour after most recently bringing the punk to Splendour in The Grass earlier in the year. We talk to front man Matt Caughthran to find out what it is about Aussie audiences and the Bronx that go so well together and what kind of beer is best drank out of a shoe.

SCENEzine
How’s 2018 going for you?

Matt Caughthran
It has been a whirlwind man, been busy as hell playing music all over the world. We had a great time in Europe, honestly been the highlight of the year so far, I think we played two months in Europe then ended that with coming to Australia and playing Splendour in The Grass which was unreal and now we are getting back on the road for a US run then coming back to Australia for some killer shows.

SCENEzine
I managed to catch your set at Punk Rock Bowling this year, you guys were awesome. How was that show for you?

Matt Caughthran
Oh, you were at that show? Aww man so glad you were there, that was a fun one.

SCENEzine
The Punk Rock Bowling festival itself was great do you have any fond memories you wanna share from it?

Matt Caughthran
That show in particular was a very funny day because if I remember correctly we hadn’t done too much rehearsal for that show and sound check was at 5 and we got there and the generator for the stage was broken so we had to sit around until another generator could come. We sat around till 9 o clock at night so everyone was so dead and then we finally get it all to work. The show kicks off, everything was dope and then Blag from the Dwarves comes up and I hadn’t seen him in so long, he is a one of kind character a really good dude if ya know him. He just made my night freaking hilarious it was so good seeing him and the other Dwarves and everybody knew it was going to be a special night and it was man. All the bands were killer and the show just ended up being a really special one for us and it was a lot of fun.

SCENEzine
It’s pretty much a year since your newest album V came out. You must be stoked with how it turned out?

Matt Caughthran
Hell yeah! We are really proud of that record, love the way it came out, love the way the songs sound, love the way the songs feel live, It’s been a good experience all the way round. The fans seem to be really pumped on it especially live, the songs really have people going off. It’s crazy awesome and they just blend in too with all the other records live especially, things sound really cohesive which is a really good affirmation. You could say when you make the record you wanna make and all the songs tie in together, it’s been so good and we are looking forward to making another one.

SCENEzine
Is there a particular song from the new album you enjoy playing live?

Matt Caughthran
Yeah! There are a lot of them right now Broken Arrow is my favourite one to play live and Stranger Danger is another good one. Sore Throat, Side Effects they all have such a good vibe when we are playing them live. Broken Arrow though has that old-school vibe with like punk rock anger to it, it’s also got chunky guitar riffs, it’s so cool I really dig it. That song has that push and pull but real rhythmic, it has a pulsey verse then the chorus comes in and punches you right in the face and its awesome.

SCENEzine
Speaking of playing live, the Bronx never disappoints and are hailed as one of the best live acts. It must be a cool feeling knowing that?

Matt Caughthran
It is a good feeling ya know, it’s such a relief for us to be able to play music and it feels good to know that when we play things just turn into complete chaos and it’s like that is the level everybody is on in the room and that is the level we want to set night after night. We want people to know that when we come out it is about to go the fuck off , I am a punk rocker I like to get crazy get loose I like to turn things inside out and its always kind of best that way, especially at a show. The shows I would go to when I was younger before I was in a band, was always the craziest shows and you see people just losing their minds and that’s what we want.

SCENEzine
It’s not long until your back in Australia, do you think there is a special connection between Australia and the Bronx?

Matt Caughthran
Hell yeah there is! We understand each other it’s like we have that unspoken family type of kinetic energy ya know, we just get each other. Australia has always embraced the crazy people we are I think, we love each other for who we are we don’t have to put up front or act like any one different, it’s like we just understand each other. Honestly, any time we play Australia it just gets better and better it feels like home, we have been there so many times now that we have these amazing relationships both working and friendships, it’s amazing man. We are super fortunate and we have nothing but love for Australia.

SCENEzine
What’s your thoughts on drinking beer out of shoe? you must have done a shoey on a previous tour?

Matt Caughthran
Yea I got a shoey under my belt, I did one on the Violent Soho tour, I mean I’m not that into it to be honest. I have drunk beer off some terrible surfaces in my life and I will drink beer out of my own shoe all night long, don’t get me wrong. I will do that but it’s when you go to introduce the mystery shoe or the gross foot shoe that’s when it’s no fun.

SCENEzine
Any particular Aussie beer you prefer to drink be it from a shoe or a bottle?

Matt Caughthran
Oh yeah, there is a beer you guys have it’s in most your hotels fridges it is kind of like a yuppie beer it looks like a Michelago but its more yuppie and not in a trendy hipster way like a Pabst in a sort of triangle bottle.

SCENEzine
Crownnie?

Matt Caughtran
Yeah, that and Coopers we can drink them all day long we love Aussie beers.

SCENEzine
What can we expect on the upcoming tour anything special or crazy up your sleeve?

Matt Caughthran
Oh well ya know I just got done with my plastic surgery and so I got a brand-new face that I will be debuting in this tour and it will be the first time ever any one has seen it. We have injected ourselves with steroids so we are going to be madder, buffer, crazier, stronger and with my face lift what you’re going to be witnessing come this October is Bronx 2023 but you are getting it in 2018 you are getting to witness the future so make sure you come to the show is all I can say.

SCENEzine
Do you remember your first ever Australia tour?

Matt Caughthran
Awh man it totally felt like a dream come true like I’m not gonna lie we were totally afraid of being bitten by a spider or eaten by a snake or eaten by a shark all that stuff and it is so funny looking back on it and whilst they were legitimate concerns it has truly felt like home. Ever since we came there the first time and I remember our first show at the Zoo in Brisbane and if you could bottle that type of feeling of pure happiness, here we are in Australia which is pretty much the furthest you can go from where we grew up and you’re playing music and its going off it just feels so automatic almost like we are two people who are supposed to meet each other and it has been that way ever since.

SCENEzine
“Heart Attack American” is a classic Bronx track do you still get as much of a kick playing it live as we get hearing it?

Matt Caughthran
Oh hell yeah, man that song is part of my DNA I love that song, always I love playing it.

SCENEzine
Lastly, do you have a message for Aussie fans?

Matt Caughthran
Thanks for always having our backs, thanks for the ten years of love and dedication and chaos and on this next tour we are looking for these shows to be the craziest ones we have ever done. And I want people to be on notice, I want people to take action and be responsible for their own chaos, I want people to go crazy at these shows I want people to jump off the stage I want people to jump off each other I want people to go absolute ape shit because these shows are going to be special, they are going to go down in Bronx Australian history and we are all going to do it together and it is going to be bad ass.

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